Poster #67 - Transmission of Risk: Maternal Childhood Adversity to Child Behavioral Problems through Maternal Attachment and Depression

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Developmental Psychopathology

Integrative Statement

Background: Researchers have recently investigated whether mothers’ adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are transmitted across generations and confer risk for their children’s behavioral outcomes. Indeed, studies have demonstrated associations between mothers’ ACE history and their children’s poor developmental outcomes (e.g., McDonnell & Valentino, 2016; Racine et al., 2018; Schickedanz et al., 2018), although, mechanisms underlying this intergenerational transmission of risk require further elucidation. Maternal insecure attachment has been evidenced to mediate the relationship between ACEs and later psychopathology (Widom et al., 2018). Additionally, studies have shown maternal depression and anxiety are mechanisms linking maternal ACEs and child behavioral outcomes (Madigan et al., 2015; Roberts et al., 2004). However, no study to date has examined these maternal risks concurrently. Further, research has primarily focused on maternal depression as a mechanism between maternal ACEs and infant behavioral problems, while maternal anxiety and behavioral problems beyond infancy have typically remained unexamined. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine if a pathway existed from maternal ACEs to child behavioral problems at five years of age, as mediated by mothers’ insecure attachment, depression symptoms, and anxiety symptoms.

Method: A sample of 1,994 mother-child dyads were available for secondary analysis from a previously collected prospective longitudinal cohort (All Our Babies/Families; AOB/AOF) (McDonald et al., 2013; Tough et al., 2017). Mothers were primarily Caucasian (81.8%), of mid-high socioeconomic status (95.0%), and completed high school or post-secondary education (97.9%). At 36 months postpartum, women retrospectively completed an adapted version of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Checklist. At 60 months postpartum, mothers completed the Experiences in Close Relationships- Short Form (ECR-S), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Spielberger State Anxiety Scale from the State Trait Anxiety Inventory Form X (STAI), and the Parent Rating Scale of the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2).

Results: The path analysis was conducted using Mplus 8.0 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2016) with the maximum likelihood estimator (see Figure 1). A significant indirect effect was observed from maternal ACEs via maternal attachment anxiety predicting higher child internalizing problems, and from ACEs via maternal depression to child internalizing problems. There was also a significant indirect path from ACEs via maternal attachment anxiety and depression to child internalizing problems, and via maternal attachment avoidance and depression to child internalizing problems. A direct effect was observed from maternal ACEs to child externalizing problems. There was a significant indirect effect from ACEs via maternal attachment anxiety predicting higher child externalizing problems, and from ACEs via maternal depression to child externalizing problems. Finally, there was a significant indirect path from ACEs via maternal attachment anxiety and depression to child externalizing problems, and via maternal attachment avoidance and depression to child externalizing problems (see Table 1).

Conclusions: Maternal ACEs influence children’s risk for poor behavioral outcomes by way of direct and indirect intermediary pathways. Thus, addressing maternal insecure attachment and depression symptoms as treatment factors for mothers with histories of childhood adversity may help to mitigate the intergenerational transmission of risk to their children.

Authors

• Jessica Cooke, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Calgary and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute
  Presenting Author

• Nicole Racine, University of Calgary
  Non-Presenting Author

• Andre Plamondon, Université Laval
  Non-Presenting Author

• Shelia McDonald, Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary
  Non-Presenting Author

• Suzanne Tough, Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sheri Madigan, University of Calgary and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Calgary
  Non-Presenting Author